Hat sunguards are well known to be helpful in protecting wearers against sunburn and wind. Baseball hats provide limited protection, leaving the ears and the back of the neck exposed to the sun. Shielding of these areas has been accomplished by affixing a flap type sunguard onto the back portion of the hat. These sunguards are usually made of light weight material and are either permanently attached or detachably attached.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,535 discloses a hat sunguard for use with a baseball style cap having an upturned inner band. The sunguard comprises a substantially rectangular flap having a pair of pockets enclosing rigid tabs positioned on either end of the upper portion of the body of the flap. The pockets are adapted for folding engagement to the interior of the upturned inner band on opposite sides of the interior of the cap. The body of the flap depends from the back of the hat protecting the back of a wearer's neck and ears from harmful sunlight waves. A problem arises when the wearer removes his cap. The reinforced pockets have a tendency to loosen and fall out of the upturned inner band when the cap is removed or jostled about.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,717 discloses a similar accessory to headgear which provides protection of the posterior neck region, both ears and a portion of either side of the face. The accessory comprises a conformable member that may be manually bent to impart a self-sustaining shape to conform to the wearer's head and spring-loaded binder clips which are used as attachment means to the hat. The attachment tends to be cumbersome and the clips tend to be uncomfortable to the wearer.
The invention disclosed herein overcomes the undesirable features of prior art by providing a new and improved protective headgear attachment for baseball style hats having flexible and secure engagement means that can be easily attached and detached.